Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with alternative treatments against Bacillus anthracis infection or anthrax toxin exposure.
Inhalational anthrax is a leading bioterrorist threat and is fatal when left untreated1. An anthrax vaccine has been licensed for human use (AVA or Biothrax, Emergent Biosolutions, Rockville, Md.), but the required immunization schedule is complicated, requiring six doses over 18 months followed by annual booster vaccinations. Post-exposure treatment for inhalational anthrax includes 60-day antibiotic therapy with a one-dose vaccination of AVA shortly after exposure, however, this treatment is unreliable at later stages of infection when large amounts of anthrax toxins have been produced.
Bacillus anthracis is the etiological agent responsible for anthrax. B. anthracis is a gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium capable of forming stable and easily dispersible spores that can be developed and used as a bioweapon. Alveolar macrophages will ingest the B. anthracis spores following exposure via inhalation and transport these spores to draining lymph nodes where they germinate and produce virulence factors: a poly-D-glutamic acid capsule surrounding the vegetative form of the bacterium and toxins.